Manipur Cabinet approves Rs 10 lakh assistance for families of 49 missing persons

The Manipur Cabinet has approved one-time financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh each to the next of kin of 49 people who have remained missing since the outbreak of ethnic violence in the state on May 3, 2023.

The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh on Thursday.

Addressing reporters after the meeting at the Secretariat Complex, Manipur government spokesperson and MLA Sapam Ranjan Singh said the Cabinet had approved a proposal of the Home Department to provide the assistance as a special humanitarian measure to the families of the 49 missing persons.

According to Ranjan, the 49 people remain untraced despite sustained search efforts since the violence began.

He said the decision takes into account the difficulties faced by families of missing persons, particularly because existing legal and procedural requirements make it difficult for them to access compensation available to families of those officially declared dead.

Under the law, a missing person is presumed dead only after seven years. The families also do not have documents such as death certificates and postmortem reports that are required under the applicable Central assistance scheme.

Ranjan said the families of the missing persons had suffered hardships comparable to those faced by families of victims who died during the conflict and had therefore been considered for the same Rs 10 lakh assistance.

The Cabinet also approved an increase in ex-gratia assistance for Army and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel killed or injured while operating in Manipur in connection with extremist violence.

Ranjan said the existing rates — Rs 2 lakh for death and Rs 10,000 for injury — were fixed in 2006 and had become inadequate.

Under the revised proposal, the assistance will be brought on par with the rates applicable to state police personnel. The revised ex-gratia will be Rs 10 lakh for death, Rs 2 lakh for permanent disability, Rs 1 lakh for grievous injury and Rs 20,000 for simple injury.

In another decision, the Cabinet approved an increase in the monthly pension for retired journalists from Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000. The family pension for eligible beneficiaries will also be increased from Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000.

The Cabinet further approved a Finance Department proposal to constitute the Fifth Manipur State Finance Commission for the period from 2026-27 to 2030-31.